I do not own the rights to Neon Genesis Evangelion, or any of the characters, equipment, or locations written in this fanfiction. The purpose of this fanfiction is merely for the non-profit enjoyment of other readers. If requested by Gainax, Hideki Anno, or other parties which represent aforementioned objects in this story, I will remove it promptly.
Chapter VIII:
The Unit was shrouded in white nylon fabric and poly-vinyl dust covers, left sitting in the confines of Terminal Dogma for years. Ritsuko studied the creature with a hint of distaste. The work was left incomplete, funding cut off by the Japanese government when the Defense Forces realized a mass-production variant of this model was impossible, let alone impractically expensive. Each Unit of the Second Generation had to be practically custom designed for the pilot's battle strategy, let alone their neurological specifications. Even the psyche of a pilot needed to be considered before the project could begin.
Fortunately, the blonde thought, preparations for Raidon's "birth" were made long in advance, when the concept of an Evangelion was first proposed. She glanced over at the young man, still wearing his brother's school uniform, wondering just how much more she could learn about Yui's greatest creation by reading through the remnants of the long dead woman's files. The clipboard held against her side contained all the secrets for both man and machine to function, a recipe of all the proposed upgrades, and a prediction of the effectiveness of the most deadly weapons system entrusted to a single human being.
Fortunately, there was nothing too human about the Sixth Child.
"For now, Shinji's spare plugsuit should do just fine," the doctor explained, tossing a clear plastic bag with the white outfit towards the boy. "Once you choose to continue with us, then we will fit you with your own."
"Ah, the joys of twins sharing..." Raidon rolled his eyes. "Wait, what did you just say about me choosing to stay?"
"It's obvious you will not leave," Ritsuko replied. "You are not the type to leave things unfinished."
"I'm also not a sucker, like my brother apparently is." Ritsuko scowled. "You said this Unit was unique. What's so special about it?"
"This was a joint NERV and Japanese Defense Forces project to combine tactical weaponry directly into the Eva series," the doctor explained. "Until Alpha was built, none of the Eva series had been built specifically as a weapon." She stopped, her teeth snatching her tongue before it revealed anything more. The fact the Eva series was not meant to be used as a weapon could lead to other questions, and as Raidon stood there, his eyebrows furrowed, perhaps, she considered, he had caught on. Apparently, however, he would not ask that question today.
"I see some unusual components here," he started. "Well, okay, unusual for a giant walking robot. Just what did you mean this Eva was designed specifically as a weapon?" The latter Ikari strode down the catwalk, studying the features of the barely humanoid object. There was an indication of bipedal locomotion, but what were legs seemed only to serve as struts, the thin, lightly reinforced stilts only a secondary support structure. The beast leaned forward, the unusually long, slender arms keeping the thing from falling to the floor of the Cage Three.
Then he noticed something, a glowing, pulsing blue light hidden under the thick chest armor and plastic tarp. Raidon approached cautiously, pulling the sheets away, only to reveal a small liquid crystal display. The rectangular display was approximately the size of a large man's hand, and it continuously flashed a single word, written in English: STANDBY.
"Alpha was built as a high speed weapons platform and interceptor," Akagi finally answered. "In the event the original Eva series failed to defeat an Angel, NERV's support infrastructure failed, or a fast response supply of support fire needed to be mobilized, Alpha would be deployed." She frowned. "This, not the Eva, is truly man's last hope."
"If that's the case, why is it still in storage?" Raidon turned, his right hand tracing slowly over the display. Somehow, it felt so comforting, so natural to be near to this... whatever it was. "From what has been released to the public, there have been quite a few close calls, nearly destroying all of the city. What sense is there in keeping this locked away, when my brother could use all the help he could get?"
"There are some... complications," Ritsuko began. "First, this is a prototype of a completely new operating system, something not even Unit-02 or the later production series has been running. Naturally there are still some bugs in the system, but nothing we can't handle with today's improvements in high level programming. Furthermore, while this was meant to be the flagship of an entirely new line of Eva, it could only be tailor made for one specific pilot. The Eva series, at least, can have their parameters reset to handle different pilots, but this... this is very picky about who is behind the controls."
"And I've been selected because?" Raidon glowered, his voice low, tearing at the woman's ears like sandpaper. He knew the answer, but couldnot bring himself to believe it. How could something built while he was still a child be made specifically for him? It was the only logical solution, but not one that was easy to swallow.
"As you know, Shinji is your twin brother," Ritsuko began. "Your mother was the chief engineer of the Eva series, along with others who supported her developments in the various other branches. Because an Eva could only be piloted by post-Impact Children, and you fell into that category, she chose to leave Unit-01 and Unit Alpha to the two of you."
"She chose to give us them?" Raidon asked skeptically. "Or do you mean she forced us to pilot them? It's not like she would have the permission from her superiors to make something only a direct family member could pilot." He stopped, noticing the blue LCD panel. The text changed, his hand resting on the faceplate:
ALPHA RECOGNIZES IKARI, RAIDON
"You mean..." Ikari breathed. "She actually did it? She actually built this for me? B-but how? How would she know my specifications beforehand? How could she know?"
"Because you were built for it," Ritsuko let the sickening sentence drop from her mouth. The words clanged against the boy's brain, sending a sickening churning in his stomach to motion. There were too many implications to consider with what was said. All he could do is silence the torrent of new thoughts, and focus on being angry at the one truth that was just revealed to him.
"I'm... what am I?" he growled. The doctor refused to answer. He started to walk slowly, carefully towards the woman. "I-I said..." he trembled. "I said... what... am... I?" Again, the doctor refused to answer, only standing there like a mindless doll. She smirked at that thought, considering how it applied to so many people here at NERV, particularly those who did not know how easily their freedom was taken away. The right to choose a fate was overrated, especially in this place.
Had she been paying more attention to her surroundings rather than contemplating the amusing twists of phrases in her mind, perhaps she would have not been caught off guard. The Sixth Child gripped her by her labcoat collar, jerking her forcefully forward. For his size, the boy was strong; much stronger than the predictions made just over a decade ago. "I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" the boy roared. "WHAT AM I?"
Ritsuko's neck rocked back and forth, her head seemingly attached to her body by a spring. She tried to reach up and stop him, but as she did, the boy let her go, simply dropping her to the ground like a piece of useless garbage. Garbage, the woman thought. She reflected on the previous nights with their father, and the way she was being used. That summed her up, alright. She was just garbage to the Ikaris and their byproducts.
"And if I refuse to tell you?" Akagi snapped. "You're a big boy. You can figure it out!"
Suddenly, Raidon's face lit up with a dangerous grin. "Yes, of course, Doctor," he snarled. "I can figure it out just fine on my own..." His hand reached out for the display, tapping the newly displayed touch-screen button once.
•••••••••••••
Shinji had a bad feeling when he was left in the commander's office with only Asuka. His father had been hastily recalled to the command tier, without so much as a word to explain his motives. Rei was ordered to accompany him, as usual, leaving both Second and Third Child in the darkness until given permission to leave. "You really think I'm weak?" he asked simply, his eyes staring out towards the large picture window beyond the engraved stone surfaces and intimidating furniture.
"What?" Soryu asked, taken entirely by surprise. She stopped, thinking back to what the boy had just said. "What do you think, Baka?" she cried in her typical agitated note. "Of course I think you're weak! You do whatever others tell you to do, just like that damn doll!"
"I asked you," Shinji started, "not to call her that."
"And what is the weak, helpless little brother going to do about it?" Asuka cooed, her patronizing posture seeming to cause her body to grow in size as she approached. "Going to cry for momma in your nightmares like befo-" Her train of thought, not to mention her breathing, was interrupted by a sudden crushing force against her larynx. She managed to back up just in time to reduce the damage to a fair sized bruise, but the momentum was enough to knock her down on the ground.
Shinji Ikari was above her, straddling her waist, hands clenched around her throat. "W-who..." he snarled. "Who is weak, again?" He locked eyes with the girl, and managed to hold his own for a few seconds, before the girl jolted towards him, her hands reaching, clawing at his eyes. Shinji retreated, but Soryu pushed on, rising to her feet, and pinning the Third to the nearest wall.
He stood there, his breathing just above a whisper as the redhead froze, keeping her eyes locked on his. "You are weak," she said matter-of-factly. "You still don't get it, do you? You always apologize, even for things that aren't your fault. When you make a decision and it doesn't work out, or people don't like it, you try to take it back. Then... then, you only talk to me when I decide to comfort you first!" The last sentence was the hardest for her to utter, a small portion of her frontal lobe pondering if the monitoring equipment in the commander's office would overhear their conversation, and if so, whom would not be privy to their little discussion?
Shinji's hands found new strength, and gripping the girl's wrists, forced them back from his shoulders, sending her stumbling two or three steps backwards. Their civil discussion had degenerated into a child's shoving match. Somehow, the observers watching the live video feed considered, they always knew it would come down to something like this. "You have room to talk!" the boy yelped. He was gaining traction with his new found footing, forcing the girl to retreat. "You constantly gripe about every little thing I do, but refuse to do anything yourself! I have to bend over backwards just to mildly please you, and even then, I'm only another toy to keep your amusement. You call me a pervert, a coward, and an idiot, when you do everything in your power to try and get me to oogle your pathetic excuse for a body."
The girl shuddered, but his stinging comments just added fuel to the fire. "You... you stupid, ungrateful DOG!" she yelled, shoving back against the boy's gripping arms sending him a good five steps back towards the wall. "Maybe the only way to motivate someone as spineless as you is to force you to make something better of yourself! If you were half the man Raidon is-"
"Don't you DARE compare me to my brother!" Shinji screamed. His hands broke contact with the girl's wrists, and reached out, delivering first a left jab, then a right hook. One punch, the observers thought, could be argued as a simple flurry of uncontrolled emotion. Two was pushing it. But the crude copy of a barfight breaking out in the commander's office was not something heated words alone could take the blame for.
"They have a lot of energy, those kids..." Kaji commented, just hearing the gritting teeth of Fuyutsuki in the distance.
•••••••••••••
Gendo snarled, looking over at Ritsuko. The clean slap he delivered left a small welt along her left cheek. "I asked you... how much did you tell him?" Again, the woman remained silent. "Nevermind," he growled. He stared at the Unit in Cage Three, as the cellphone in his right coat pocket shook in the silent vibrate mode. Answering with a simple, gruff "yes", the commander's face tightened at each word from the caller. "Understood," he breathed. "Encrypt all of the weapon safeties, and keep the Unit on battery power. It should fail in a few more minutes." Turning, he glared at Ayanami standing by his side. "Rei," he barked. "I understand you have developed a rapport with my sons."
"Sir?" she asked.
"You will join the doctor in the control room, and try to talk him down from whatever it is he is doing."
The softest, almost indistinguishable sigh came from Ayanami as she turned on her heel, walking towards the changing rooms. "Yes... Sir."
•••••••••••••
Fuyutsuki had long since switched off the monitor, realizing the two Children wouldn't kill each other. They were too injured to do any more damage to each other now. Both had used up what endurance they had a long time ago, and could only stand, if they could do that. Rather, the contest had now turned into a "stand" off, as in each tried to stay on their feet longer than the other, the minor concussions starting to overtake their balance. "Just send a few nurses from the hospital with some restraints," he grumbled into the cellphone. "We'll deal with the disciplinary measures later."
Asuka stared through the puffy, enflamed bruises distorting her vision. Her teeth seemed to rattle freely in her head whenever she tried to talk, so she opted to keep her jaw locked shut when she spoke. "Shtill not had... enuff... Thlird Chyld?" her gurgling throat uttered. The minor cuts above her eyes started to bleed into her eyelids, the dry, encrusted blood weighing them down. Squinting, then choosing to close her eyes entirely, Soryu still had not heard a reply. "Well..Chin-ji?" she mumbled.
Ikari slumped slightly to his left, cradling his right arm. "You really know how to take a punch," he started to laugh, before the bruised ribs forced him to stop. It was taking all his effort to stay on his two feet, his calves screaming to stop. However, he knew Asuka was close to falling as well, and after all she had said, he wouldn't dare let her win this time. He finally understood what she was trying to do, but wondered if there was not a better way to encourage him. "A-Asuka?" he asked, noticing the girl limping towards him.
"C-ome here, Bah-ka..." she sighed contentedly. Slowly, he stumbled towards her, each movement inviting another flaring pain from his left side. The girl's head collided with his right shoulder, her arms hanging loosely over his arms. Her knees buckled, forcing her to grip his shoulders for support. The sudden force downward stung Ikari's ribs again. "Ay'm not gohing to losse to you, goht it?"
"This is cheating, Brat!" he smirked. It took him how many sorties with the girl, and that was the best pet name he could come up with? He had to do better than that, but then again, baka wasn't much better. "You're supposed to stand on your own."
"You broke mhy foot... dummy!" she started to snicker. "Ith's your fault, so you'hre my crutch, right?"
"You broke your own foot trying to kick me, remember?" The boy started to lean his weight on the opposite side of her limp, causing the German first to curse, then to chuckle. "And I'm not losing to you, got that?"
"Wh-en did you be-come such a gentlemahn..?" the redhead grinned, before the both of them passed out, each slumping towards each other as they crumpled to the floor. Fortunately for Shinji, Asuka softened his impact with the floor, while Ikari managed somehow to take the weight off of the girl's broken foot.
End of Chapter VIII
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